CLUB MINUTES:<\/p>\n
TNT IN SEASON CHALLENGE BEGINS: Saturday night\u2019s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the start of the first-ever TNT In-Season Bracket Challenge. For the next five weeks, each of the top-32 drivers will be paired up against another driver to compete for a better finish. The goal is simple \u2013 finish higher than your competitor and advance all the way to the finals at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27. In this first round, John Hunter Nemechek was seeded 12th against Josh Berry for the first round. Meanwhile, Jones is seeded 20th against Ross Chastain.<\/p>\n
DRIVEN TO GIVE GLOVES: This weekend at Atlanta, both LEGACY MC drivers will sport the iconic skeleton gloves as part of the Dale Jr. Foundation\u2019s Driven to Give glove program which raises awareness and funds for the Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital. Various NASCAR Cup and Xfinity drivers will wear them throughout the weekend. The gloves will then be signed by the driver and Dale Earnhardt Jr. before being auctioned off. Learn more the program and auction HERE.<\/p>\n
DOLLAR TREE VENDOR SPOTLIGHT: Dollar Tree will serve as the primary partner on the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE, driven by Erik Jones, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The bold green and white Dollar Tree scheme will hit the track alongside support from vendor partner Fritos, showcasing a strong collaboration for the race weekend across LEGACY MC\u2019s social platforms.<\/p>\n
JJ WINS AT ATLANTA: LEGACY MC co-owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson owns 29 career starts on the old configuration of the track during his career from 2001 to 2020. He was successful in finding victory lane five times at Atlanta (October 2004, March 2007, October 2007, March 2015, and February 2016). He led 586 laps in his career and earned 14 top-fives and 17 top-10s.<\/p>\n
KENSETH AT ATLANTA: LEGACY MC\u2019s competition advisor Matt Kenseth also has a solid record at Atlanta on the old configuration. In 30 starts, he earned 11 top-fives, 17 top-10s and led 363 laps. His best finish of second came in August 2014 when he finished just .574 of a second behind race winner Kasey Kahne.<\/p>\n
\u201cTHE KING\u201d VICTORIOUS AT ATLANTA: CLUB Ambassador and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty is also a six-time winner at Atlanta. In 65 total Cup Series starts, Petty has scored 22 top-fives, 33 top-10s, and led 1,827 laps at the 1.5-mile track. His victories came in August 1966, August 1970, August 1971, July 1974, March 1975, and March 1977.<\/p>\n
THE KING\u2019S FINAL LAP: On November 15, 1992, Richard Petty famously completed his final NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It marked the end of his career and the beginning of Jeff Gordon\u2019s who made his Cup Series debut in the same race. The race drew a record 160,000 spectators to celebrate Petty\u2019s historic career in the sport.<\/p>\n
NEVER SETTLE: Join ESPN\u2019s Marty Smith and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB\u2019s co-owner Johnson for their weekly podcast, \u201cNever Settle\u201d. This week\u2019s guest is Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. The podcast airs live on SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 at 2 p.m. ET every Wednesday and can be downloaded wherever fans source their podcasts. This week\u2019s guest is 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson.<\/p>\n
FAST STOPS: LEGACY MC had another strong performance on pit road in last Sunday\u2019s race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. According to Asphalt Analytics, the No. 42 team was second overall for the day on pit road with a 9.2 second average stop. This is their highest-ranking performance of the 2025 season so far. Both the No. 42 and No. 43 teams are ranked inside the top 10 for the second-half of the regular season pit stop rankings.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE<\/p>\n
BACK-TO-BACK TOP-10 FINISHES: John Hunter Nemechek is on a roll as he is on a two-race top-10 streak. Two weeks ago on June 15 in Mexico City, the driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE finished an impressive sixth at the NASCAR Cup Series\u2019 inaugural race at Aut\u00f3dromo Hermanos Rodr\u00edguez after starting 32nd. He followed that up with another sixth place finish last Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after earning his best qualifying result of the 2025 season \u2013 fourth. He currently sits 22nd in the points standings, 72 points below the playoff cutline with nine races to go in the regular season.<\/p>\n
JHN\u2019S HISTORY AT ATLANTA: Saturday night\u2019s Atlanta 400 will mark Nemechek\u2019s fifth NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.54-mile oval of Atlanta Motor Speedway. In his previous four starts, Nemechek earned his only top-10 and best finish of 10th in this season\u2019s prior race in February. He has an additional 11 starts outside of the Cup Series at Atlanta \u2013 five in the Xfinity Series and six in the Truck Series. In the Xfinity Series, Nemechek has two top-fives and three top-10s with a victory in July 2023 with a .245-second margin of victory over competitor Daniel Hemric. He has an additional victory in February 2016 in the Craftsman Truck Series along with two third place finishes in March 2021 and March 2023.<\/p>\n
JHN STEALS A WIN AT ATLANTA: Nemechek\u2019s strongest outing in the Xfinity Series at Atlanta was his July 2023 victory to earn his third victory of the season. The only time he led was during overtime after a push from Daniel Hemrick got him to the lead on the final restart over Justin Haley who was leading on the final restart. He struggled with handling issues for a majority of the day but found himself in the right spot at the right time when it came time for NASCAR overtime.<\/p>\n
HOMETOWN PYE-BARKER DAY: Prior to Friday afternoon\u2019s qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Nemechek will visit Pye-Barker Fire & Safety\u2019s main office for their annual \u201cPye-Barker Headquarters Day\u201d in Alpharetta, Ga. Starting at 9:30am ET, Nemechek and the No. 42 pit crew will participate in Q&As, live pit stops, and autograph sessions before heading to track. To honor the 8,000-plus associates, Pye-Barker has listed their names on the No. 42 car for this weekend. The event is not open to the public.<\/p>\n
TMACK AT ATLANTA: Crew chief Travis Mack has nine NASCAR Cup Series starts on top of the pit box at Atlanta. His best finish of second came in July 2023 when his driver Daniel Suarez finished just behind William Byron under caution. He has an additional three top-10s in the Cup Series at Atlanta with his most recent being a 10th-place finish in February with Nemechek. He has an additional two starts as crew chief at Atlanta in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Michael Annett, finishing 12th and 11th respectively.<\/p>\n
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:\u202f
\u201cI am really excited about Atlanta this weekend. We will start the weekend by visiting Pye-Barker\u2019s headquarters. We have some momentum building from the last few weeks \u2013 our speedway program has been really good this year. It is one of our best shots to go down there, lead some laps and be in the position to win to get into the playoffs. We have some ground to make up still but things are really trending upward.\u201d<\/p>\n
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:\u202f
\u201cI look at Atlanta like it\u2019s a race we need to go there and win. We had a really good race there in the spring, so I feel like this is going to be one of our best shots to win a race and get into the playoffs. I think the heat of the race will fall into our favor a lot with the handling, we\u2019ve had some really good intermediate races, so hopefully handling plays more of a factor and we can come out on top. It\u2019s a \u2018home\u2019 race for Pye-Barker so I\u2019d like nothing more to give them a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE<\/p>\n
JONES ATLANTA STATS: Saturday night\u2019s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will mark Erik Jones\u2019 14th NASCAR Cup Series race at the 1.54-mile track where he owns one top-five and three top-10s. His best finish of fourth came in July 2022 after the track\u2019s reconfiguration. He owns three additional starts at Atlanta in the NASCAR Cup Series \u2013 two in the Xfinity Series and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His best Xfinity Series finish of third came in February 2016 when he started second and finished third. In his one and only Truck Series start ended up in a seventh-place finish after starting second and leading 37 laps.<\/p>\n
SUPPORTING HENRY COUNTY: Back in early May, Jones visited Georgia in collaboration with Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Henry County Library system to incentivize kids to read \u2013 rewarding bookworms with tickets to this weekend\u2019 race. This year\u2019s program ran from May 15 to August 15 where each reader ages 0-18 who reaches their quarter milestone in reading would receive two complimentary tickets to this weekend\u2019s race. On May 7, Jones visited the Forton Library in Hampton to help promote the initiative and read for some of the children. After the library, he visited Rocky Creek Elementary School in Hampton where he previously installed a book vending machine in 2023 to restock the vending machine and deliver a check of $2,500 from the Erik Jones Foundation and Speedway Children\u2019s Charities Atlanta to keep it stocked.<\/p>\n
JONES ON THE CLIMB: Jones has been on a hot streak in collecting points over the past few weeks. After being outside of the top-25 in points prior to May 4 at Texas Motor Speedway, a string of strong finishes and stage points has allowed him to sit 18th in the points standings. He\u2019s currently 62 points below the playoff cutline and just three points behind 17th-place AJ Allmendinger. With nine races to go until the regular season finale on August 23 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Jones has a shot to put together some strong finishes to help him put himself into the playoffs.<\/p>\n
BESHORE AT ATLANTA: Ben Beshore has been on top of the pit box for a total of seven NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His best team finish of second came in July 2021 with Kyle Busch when he finished just 1.237 seconds behind his brother and 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch. He has an additional four races as a crew chief at Atlanta in the Xfinity Series where his team never finished outside the top-10. He won in July 2023 with John Hunter Nemechek.<\/p>\n
ERIK JONES QUOTE:\u202f
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to Atlanta. Obviously, it\u2019s kind of become a wild card race a bit. It\u2019ll be interesting to see with how hot it\u2019s going to be and how the track is aging just exactly how this track will race on Saturday night. We\u2019ve ran well there, and I\u2019m excited for that. This could be a shot for us to win, for sure. I\u2019m just proud of this team for the strong runs this past month that have helped us in our climb in the points. I think we were 28th or 29th prior to Texas after the penalty at Martinsville. Now we\u2019re back in the top-20 and on the cusp of the playoffs here \u2013 only about 60 points back. The hope is to have some really good races here to help us keep climbing. I\u2019m excited to have that shot because it\u2019s been a few years. Hopefully we can keep rolling and keep showing that speed to get some good finishes. Our team has done a really good job at bringing fast cars and running well during the day. It just hasn\u2019t worked out in the races to have some good finishes. If we can get the finishes, I think we\u2019ll have a strong run at the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
BEN BESHORE QUOTE:
\u201cFor Atlanta, the summer race will be quite different from that February race. In general, it\u2019s about 50 degrees hotter. It\u2019ll be a bit more handling-based than superspeedway-based. Every time we go back to the track we lose a little more grip and it tends to step its way more toward a handling track than your traditional superspeedway, even though it\u2019s the same sort of aero package. We just have to keep that in mind. It\u2019s a night race so it\u2019ll be a little cooler, but still hot. You\u2019ll be slipping and sliding a bit more than we did in February.\u201d<\/p>\n
LMC PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLUB MINUTES: TNT IN SEASON CHALLENGE BEGINS: Saturday night\u2019s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the start of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[12439,12440,1801,12441,12442,1406,12443,6166,9652,62,67,132,68,11932],"class_list":{"0":"post-11632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-craftsman-truck-series","9":"tag-daytona","10":"tag-international","11":"tag-michael-annett","12":"tag-motor","13":"tag-nascar","14":"tag-nationwide","15":"tag-series","16":"tag-speedway","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-xfinity-series"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114740209147691118","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}